Strangely, most types of “chili” are on the hot side, but the homonym “chilly” is cool.

Three other names of nations almost made the food-related cut.

“Grease” is the word, is the word, but “Greece” is the country: same pronunciation, different spellings.

“Carryout” and “takeout” are terms for food “to go.” The West African nation “Togo” is one word, and the “To-” rhymes with the “-go.”

And then there’s “Hungary,” which is just an “a” (and therefore a syllable) away from being “hungry.” It’s just as well. The nation’s name in Hungarian is “Magyarorszag,” and that’s a mouthful.

Clothed in wealth

Horatio Alger, who lived from 1832 to 1899, was an American author of novels for boys, principally stories of finding success in life despite humble beginnings and against long odds. They became popularly known as “rags-to-riches” stories.

The ultimate rags-to-riches tale may well be money itself. For centuries, rags were the main raw material for paper. Nowadays, paper often is made from wood pulp.

Still, current U.S. currency is composed of 75 percent cotton and 25 percent linen, so it’s not precisely true that paper money has no intrinsic value. We might be able to make clothing out of it — greenbacks for our backs.

The reputation of American paper money was sullied early. During the Revolution, the Continental Congress issued paper money that became best-known for having no value. By the end of the war, it had inspired the phrases “not worth a continental” and “not care (or give) a continental.”

At the other end of the scale, the Continental Congress is responsible for one paper product of immeasurable value: the Declaration of Independence.

Watch out for that tree

The word “timber” can refer to “trees or forests collectively” and the building materials they provide.

It also can be used to mean “personal quality or character,” as in “I admire a man of your timber.”

The similarly spelled “timbre,” which can be pronounced the same but “TAM-ber” is preferred, is “the characteristic quality of sound that distinguishes one voice or musical intrument from another or one vowel sound from another.”

It is different from “intensity” and “pitch.”

Clearly, “timbre” is important in evaluating voices. But when someone yells “Timber!” the crucial quality is volume.

Barry Wood is a Register Star copy editor. Contact him at bwood@rrstar.com or read his blog at blogs.e-rockford.com/woodonwords/.